So We've Identified The Sympton

The Census Bureau released a new finding this morning which shows that the number of Americans without health insurance has risen. The primary reason given was a decline in the number of people covered under employer sponsored healthcare plans (our local news station, which has no website, mentioned this morning that the decline in employer sponsored plans was due to rising costs - a completely reasonable statement, but one that is not made in the press release).

OK, so we've diagnosed a symptom. We've even found evidence of the true underlying issue, but it is the one that everyone seems to be afraid to touch.

Healthcare costs are going through the roof. A lot of people say that also, but again, it's only a symptom.

Why are healthcare costs going through the roof? Mainly due to extortionist malpractice lawsuits brought on by greedy lawyers and patients.

If a doctor commits true malpractice, they deserve everything they get. But too often anymore, the definition of malpractice is getting expanded far beyond its intent. Malpractice was never intended as a bludgeon against good faith errors in diagnosis. It was intended as a way of punishing those who deliberately or through egregious oversight did harm.

Yet too often, lawyers will file lawsuits with the intention of forcing the doctor or insurance company into an out of court settlement due to the cost in both money and time of fighting a lawsuit, no matter how unmeritorious it may be.

These payoffs lead to the insurance companies having to raise malpractice rates to cover their expenses and to make a profit. This in turn causes the doctors to have to raise their rates to cover the excessive malpractice insurance premiums. This causes the health insurance companies to have to raise their coverage rates to insure profits after paying the doctors for services rendered. This in turn causes employers to drop sponsored healthcare coverage, in order to protect their profits.

All of which leads to the employee becoming uninsured, just like the Census Bureau has found.

We do not need national health insurance. We really don't need reform of the malpractice laws.

We do need a reform of the legal system to discourage or punish those who file unmeritorious lawsuits in order to benefit the lawyers at the expense of society.

Why are more Americans going without healthcare coverage? Too many lawyers acting like they're better doctors than the doctors.